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Common House Martin
The Common House Martin or Northern House Martin,often to simply as the House Martin (Delichon urbicum), is a small passerine bird in the Hirundinidae family. Description With its 12-14 cm of length and 26-29 cm wingspan, this is a rather small martin. It has a compact body, pointed wings, and a forked tail, shorter than the Barn Swallow's.The underparts are completely white, while the upperparts are glossy black, with the exception of the rump. This feature, while it makes the House Martin easily recognizable in Europe, where no similar bird has it, also renders the House Martin mistakable with certain swifts, in particular the Little Swift of Africa and southern Asia. The short bill and the eyes are black. The legs, which are completely covered in white feathers, are short and weak due to the bird spending much of its time flying. Voice The call is a single short chirp, while the alarm call is a screeching "tseep". The song is clinking, meek, and lees varied than the Swallow's. Subspecies *''D.u.urbicum'', nominate subspecies *''D.u.u lagopodum'', eastern subspecies Behaviour The House Martin spends a lot of time in the air, hunting for the insects that make up the entirety of its diet. It is gregarious all year long, and often associates with other species of swallows and martins. Compared to the Barn Swallow, the House Martin is less acrobatic in flight, and usually flies higher, at the same height as the Common Swift. Breeding The breeding season goes from May to September, a period during which a couple can raise up to two broods. The nest, made out of mud or clay mixed with saliva and lined with feathers, is a distinctive 500 g rounded structure with one circular opening, located on a rocky cliff, on a wall, or under a roof. It takes about 3 weeks to build. The clutch is of 3-5 white eggs. Infidelity is frequent among these birds, in fact, three quarters of nests contain chicks fathered by another male. Interbreeding with other species, such as the Barn Swallow or the Sand Martin, is also not uncommon. When the chicks hatch, they are fed insects by their parents. During cold or rainy periods, when food is scarce, the chicks can hibernate and suspend their growth, managing to survive for 3-5 weeks in this state. Once they fledge, the young of the first brood will sometimes help their parents raise the second brood.https://www.dartmoorhousemartins.org/information/house-martin-facts/ Migration A long-range migrant, the House Martin travels in daylight, feeding on flying insects during the journey. It moves on the broad front: instead of using short sea crossings, such as the strait of Gibraltar, like many soaring migrators do, it crosses the Mediterranean and the Sahara desert. It winters in sub-saharian Africa and tropical Asia.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_house_martin Distribution and Habitat The House Martin is found in a wide range that includes Europe, temperate Asia and northern Africa. It inhabits lowlands, hills and mountains at up to 2000 m of altitude. Originally, it nested on rocky cliffs by the sea or in the mountains, but nowadays, it is tied to human settlements and is most commonly found in towns and villages, especially in rural areas, where it nests on buildings ad in barns. Conservation This martin is a Least Concern species with a wide range and a population that counts 10,000,000-500,000,000 mature individuals, 22,400,000-47,200,000 of which breed in Europe. Data recorded between 1980 and 2013 shows that the population has been undergoing a moderate decline, with minor fluctuations.https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/103811886/118748864 This is likely due to changes in agriculture and the use of pesticides reducing the number on insects that the martin feeds on. Gallery IMG 20190809 133552-01.jpeg|A group of House Martins on a wire. common house martin 2016.jpg|Flight silhouette of the House Martin. martins nest 2019.JPG|A pair building their nest. References Category:Birds Category:Bird Species Category:Aves Category:Birds of Europe Category:Birds of Eurasia Category:Passeriformes Category:Passerines Category:Songbirds Category:Hirundinidae